Somatic Hypermutation and Affinity Maturation Analysis Using the 4-Hydroxy-3-Nitrophenyl-Acetyl (NP) System
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This is a repository copy of Somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation analysis using the 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl-acetyl (NP) system. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/138157/ Version: Accepted Version Book Section: Heise, N and Klein, U orcid.org/0000-0002-4789-967X (2017) Somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation analysis using the 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl-acetyl (NP) system. In: Calado, DP, (ed.) Germinal Centers. Methods in Molecular Biology, 1623 . Springer (Humana) , pp. 191-208. ISBN 978-1-4939-7094-0 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7095-7_16 (c) 2017, Springer Science+Business Media LLC. This is an author produced version of a chapter published in Methods in Molecular Biology volume 1623. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. 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[email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation analysis using the 4-hydroxy- 3-nitrophenyl-acetyl (NP) system Nicole Heise and Ulf Klein Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University, 1130 St. Nicholas Avenue R312, New York, NY 10032, USA Correspondence to U.K. email: [email protected] Running head: NP-system in analysis of affinity maturation 1 Abstract Somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin variable region (IgV) genes and affinity maturation of the antibody response are the hallmarks of the germinal center (GC) reaction in T cell- dependent immune responses. Determining the consequences of the experimental manipulation of the GC response on somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation requires the availability of a system that allows measuring these parameters. Immunization of mice of the C57/Bl6 genetic background with the hapten 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl-acetyl (NP) coupled to a carrier protein leads to the predominant usage of one particular IgV heavy chain gene segment, V186.2, among the responding B cells. Moreover, a specific somatic mutation in codon 33 of V186.2 that leads to a tryptophan to leucine amino-acid exchange increases the affinity of the corresponding antibody by ~10-fold, thus representing a molecular marker for affinity maturation. In addition, due to the simplicity of the antigen and the virtual absence of NP-specific plasma cells prior to immunization, NP-based immunizations represent ideal tools to quantify the plasma cell response by measuring NP-specific antisera by ELISA and the generation of NP-specific plasma cells by ELISPOT analysis. We here describe approaches to i) measure the anti-NP plasma cell response by ELISA and ELISPOT analysis, and to ii) amplify and sequence V186.2 rearrangements from GC B cells and plasma cells to determine the level of somatic hypermutation and the extent of affinity maturation in the anti-NP response. Key Words B cell; plasma cell; Ig variable region gene; germinal center; somatic hypermutation; affinity maturation; T cell-dependent; T cell-independent 2 1. Introduction Antigen-specific memory B cells and plasma cells are generated during the germinal center (GC) reaction of T cell-dependent immune responses in secondary lymphoid tissues (1, 2). Within the GC microenvironment, antigen-activated B cells undergo somatic hypermutation of the rearranged IgV genes with the aim to generate high-affinity antibodies that effectively bind to the invading pathogen, resulting in its elimination. In a defined area within the GC called dark zone, the rapidly proliferating ‘dark zone’ cells hypermutate their IgV genes and then differentiate into ‘light zone’ cells that are positively selected for improved antigen-binding in the GC light zone (2-5). Selected light zone B cells recirculate to the dark zone to undergo additional rounds of mutation and selection to further improve antigen-affinity before they eventually differentiate into memory B cells or plasma cells that exit the GC. The descendants of the GC reaction thus carry somatically mutated IgV genes and have often switched from IgM to other Ig classes which have different effector functions. Understanding the molecular mechanism of the GC response is critical for the development of improved vaccines against microorganisms. Thus, for studies aimed at manipulating the GC response, which e.g. may include the deletion or overexpression of GC- associated genes or the use of particular adjuvants, it is imperative to have tools that allow the investigation of the processes that underlie the generation of antigen-specific memory B cells and plasma cells, i.e. somatic hypermutation and antibody affinity maturation. In C57/Bl6 mice, the immune response against the hapten 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl-acetyl (NP) coupled to a carrier protein frequently results in a specific, affinity-enhancing hypermutation in codon 33 of the V186.2 gene segment that leads to an amino acid exchange resulting in a ~10-fold increase in affinity against NP (6-8), allowing for the generation of NP-specific GC B cells, memory B cells 3 and plasma cells to be tracked at the molecular level. The resulting antibodies are mostly of the IgG1 class (6-8). The characterization of the B-cell response against NP at the molecular level by several groups (9-11) provided the baseline for numerous studies on the extent of affinity maturation in situations where certain genes were either knocked out in the mouse germ-line or conditionally deleted in GC B cells (12-16). By immunizing mice with NP coupled to a carrier protein such as chicken gammaglobulin (CGG) or keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), the characteristics and dynamics of the immune response against the hapten in the presence or absence of a certain signaling pathway or transcription factor, or a specific treatment, can be investigated by i) determining the somatic hypermutation frequency in V186.2 gene rearrangements, ii) the fraction of B cells with the affinity-enhancing tryptophan to leucine amino-acid exchange, iii) the quantity of NP- specific serum IgG1 secreted by GC-derived plasma cells by ELISA, and iv) the frequency of plasma cells in lymphoid tissues by ELISPOT analysis. The use of the NP system is not confined to T cell-dependent antibody responses, as the coupling of NP to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or the polysaccharide Ficoll allows the study of the plasma cell response in T cell-independent responses type I and II, respectively, by ELISA. 2. Materials 2.1 Immunization Sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). NP-KLH (e.g. NP28-KLH, Biosearch Technologies; of note, the number of NP molecules conjugated to KLH varies among batches). 4 For T-independent immunizations (Notes 1), NP-LPS and NP-AECM-FICOLL (Biosearch Technologies). Freud's adjuvant complete. Freud's adjuvant incomplete. 1 ml syringes. 5 Needles (18G1½ and 25G /8). Vortex. Sonicator. 2.2 Acquisition of blood samples and serum preparation Razor blade or scalpel. 1 ml or 2 ml syringes. 21G1 needles. 1.5 ml collection tubes. Centrifuge. 2.3 ELISA 96-well immune plates (Thermo Fisher Scientific). 96-well culture plates. Parafilm. PBS. 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS) in PBS. Wash buffer: PBS containing 0.05% Tween-20. Capture antibody: anti-mouse Ig(H+L) (Southern Biotec). 5 NP-bovine serum albumin (BSA) with low and high hapten coating (e.g. NP9-BSA and NP25-BSA). Mouse Ig (e.g. IgM, IgG1). Detection antibody: alkaline phosphatase (AP)-conjugated anti-mouse Ig (e.g. IgM, IgG1). PNPP (p-nitrophenylphosphate; Southern Biotec). Substrate buffer (500 ml): ddH2O + 24.5 mg MgCl2x6H2O + 48 ml diethanolamine; adjust pH to 9.8 with 5N HCl. Microplate reader. 2.4 Sample generation from mouse tissues following NP immunization PBS/0.5% BSA Glass slides; alternatively 40 µm cell strainer, 50 ml falcon tube and plunger of a 5 ml syringe. 10 ml syringes. 22G1 needles. RBC lysis buffer (e.g. Red Blood Cell Lysis HybriMax; Sigma Aldrich); alternatively, prepare lysis buffer: ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) 0.15 M, 8.29 g per l; potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) 10 mM, 1 g per l; EDTA 0.1 mM, 0.037 g per l; H2O, 1 l; filter solution with 0.45 m filter, store at 4ºC. 15 ml Falcon tubes. Refrigerated centrifuge. Optional: cell counter (e.g. Countess, Invitrogen). 6 2.5 ELISPOT 96-well filtration plates (Millipore, Cat# MSIPS4510). 96-well culture plates. Plastic wrap. 0.2 µm filter. 35% ethanol (diluted in molecular grade H2O). Sterile PBS. RPMI culture medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 1% Penicillin/Streptomycin and 0.1% -mercaptoethanol. Wash buffer: PBS containing 0.05% Tween-20. PBS/2% BSA. NP-BSA with high hapten coating (e.g. NP25-BSA). Detection antibody: AP-conjugated anti-mouse IgG1. Nitro blue tetrazolium chloride-5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate (NBT/BCIP; Roche). NBT/BCIP substrate buffer: 0.1 M Tris + 0.1 M NaCl + 0.05 M MgCl2; pH 9.5. Optional: cell counter. Microplate reader (alternatively, colonies can be counted using a magnifying glass and pictures of wells can be taken with a camera that has a macro function). 2.6 Isolation of B-cell subsets from immunized mice by FACS RBC lysis buffer (see above). PBS/0.5% BSA.